Martin Campbell hasn't directed a feature since 2011's THE GREEN LANTERN, and no, he’s not in hiding. His name has come up a few times in recent weeks actually, as the frontrunner to direct G.I. JOE 3 and he's currently attached to direct the Italian graphic novel SEBASTIAN X. Now another project has landed with the director; he’s officially set to helm the long in-development espionage thriller HUNTER KILLER which will shoot in Whittier, Alaska early next year. The project as you might recall has been through a few directors over the years including Phillip Noyce, Antoine Fuqua, McG, and most recently, INTO THE STORM director Steven Quale.

The news comes from a town hall meeting in Whittier where officials announced the project. There is still no confirmation that Gerard Butler, who has been long-rumored to star for a long time, will join the project.

Based on the novel “Firing Point” by George Wallace and Don Keith, HUNTER KILLER finds a renegade Russian military leader pushing the U.S. to the brink of a nuclear confrontation and shattering a decades-old peace agreement between the two former enemies. Cut off from all outside communication, a submarine commander and an elite Navy special forces unit are all that stand between the Russian assault and all-out war.

For a guy who can take credit for bringing back James Bond with the spectacular GOLDENEYE and CASINO ROYALE, I can say I’m usually optimistic about a Martin Campbell movie and this one sounds pretty great. Any movie involving a submarine and or a submarine war already has my money.

Extra Tidbit:

If the budget remains above $50 million (as last reported by The Anchorage Daily News), HUNTER KILLER will be the most expensive modern movie to film in Alaska.